BUCKINGHAM
The fitful ray of sunshine which had begun to peep through the clouds of the King's troubles was destined to be short lived. The forced loan was suddenly declared by the judges to be without any legal sanction, and in spite of Charles's instant dismissal of the Chief Justice, Sir Randal Crew, and the appointment of Sir Nicholas Hyde, one of Buckingham's creatures, to the vacancy, the example set by the legal fraternity had its effect upon the nation.
Of course, for the most part, those possessed of no heroic spirit preferred to pay up rather than face the dreadful punishments which so frequently attended nonpayment. It was no light matter to be torn from a peaceful agricultural life and sent off to take part in the gruesome battle on the Continent. Nor was it pleasant to be confined perhaps in some distant country miles away from one's own people. None the less, there were a few valiant spirits who asserted the liberties of Englishmen by refusing to pay money for which there was no legal ground of claim. Generally the men who so refused occupied positions of importance. On some occasions the Commissioners for the Loan themselves declined to pay, whilst a large number of the peers proved recalcitrant. Strong opposition, as may be imagined, was given by such men as Wentworth, Eliot, Pym, and Hampden who, in addition to their objections to lending money so illegally claimed, had forceful views upon the purposes for which it was to be employed. Before the end of June, 1627, Sir Thomas Wentworth had been summoned before the Council for his refusal to pay the loan, and banished to Kent — far from his ancestral seat of Wentworth-Woodhouse in Yorkshire. The growing body of discontent was assuming alarming proportions, and it was an increasing anxiety to the King to know what to do. He did not wish to provoke further opposition by unduly harsh measures, and yet to accept payment from the weak
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